Tire machine



May 14, 1935. H. c. BOSTWICK TIRE MACHINE :Filed Dec. 27, 1955 Alli/l Wwl/ A TTORNE Y Patented May 14, 1935 UNITED STATES TIRE MACHINE Henry G. Bbstwick, Coventry Township, Summit County, Ohio, assignor to The Akron Standard lgold Company, Akron, Ohio, a corporation of Application December-27, 1933, Serial No. 704,120

11 Claims.

This invention relates to tire-building machines, and it has for its object to provide improvements in the mounting and operation of the band-stitching or rolling instrumentalities in such a machine, whereby thecost of.v construction and maintenance are reduced and efficiencyincreased. 7

Of the accompanying drawing, Fig. l is a front elevation of a tire-building machine provided with my improvements.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation, partly broken away.

Fig. 3 is a detail section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 through the radial-feed slide and its mounta Fig. 4 is a detail cross-section on the line 4-4 of Fig.3,

Fig. 5 is an end elevationshowing a modified hand-wheel shaft for the longitudinal stitcher feed.

In these views the cross-feed slide and parts i carried thereby are shown intheir band-rolling position.

In the drawing, Ill is a tire-building former in the shape of a fiat-band building drum shouldered at its ends with reduced bead seats I I for building a tire band with inextensible beads, the drum being of suitable segmental construction permitting it to be collapsed for removal of the completed band. The drum is carried by the outward end of a rotary driving shaft 12 projecting horizontally from a casing l3 containing the drum driving mechanism, said shaft being surrounded by a hollow shaft 14 for controlling the collapse and expansion of the drum.

The stitching or rolling devices, consisting of a pair of stitcher wheels l5 and their supports, are shown as mounted in this case rearwardly and below the level of the axis of rotation of the, drum and provided with a rectilinear radial or cross-feed mounting for concurrently moving both stitcher wheels radially intoand out of coaction with the drum or the material thereon, as well as a rectilinear longitudinal-feed mounting for moving the two wheels in opposite directions widthwise or axially of the drum.

A radial-feed slide I 6 is mounted in a fixed guide I! on the sideof the casing l3 for rectilinear movement at an angle of substantially to the floor line, the guide having a rear stop,"

plate I '1 for limiting the retracting movement of the slide. An anti-friction bearing is provided for said slide by interposing between the slide and the guide twoendless traveling series of balls [8 operating in grooved races IS on' the slide and 19 on the guide, respectivelyxat: the upper and lower edges of the slide, the latter having return channels 120 for receiving the inactive portions of the respective ball groups.

Movement of the slide I 6 in the direction of the drum shaft is imparted thereto at the will of the operator by apedal lever 2| pivoted upon a horizontal pin 22 carried by the end wall of the casing 13, said lever including a forwardly-project-ing pedal arm .23 and another arm 24 connected by a link .25 with the slide. The link is pivotally connected by pins 2 6' and .2! respectively with the rear. pedal-lever arm and the slide, and the pin 26 is adapted to occupy any one of a longitudinal series. of holes 28 in the link, whereby the effective length of said link may be varied to accommodate the positions of the slide [6 to drums ll] of different diameters.

Mounted on the slide I 6,, to-project horizontally therefrom, parallel with the axis of rotation of the drum, and to extend to and beyond the zone 1 of the drum, is an elongated fiat bar 29 which acts as a guide for the stitcher slides and also as a support for their operating mechanism. Each stitcher wheel is freely journaled upon a spindle 30 carried by an arm of a lever 3i pivoted at 32. upon a supporting slide 33 which is mounted for movement along the bar 29. The other arm of said lever backed by a helical spring 34 abutting a block 35 pivoted on the stitcher slide, for causing thestitcher wheel to engage the tire material upon the drum with a yielding pressure when the cross-feed slide is moved forward, these springs permitting the .two stitcher wheels to yield independently to inequalities in the material and in rounding the shoulders of the drum. The spring 34 surrounds a rod. 36 which has a stop nut 31 screwing on its lower end and coacting with the block 35 to limit the pivotal projecting movement of the stitcher lever on the slide 33.

For imparting the longitudinal feed to the stitcher slides 33 in opposite directions, there is provided a chain 38 .mounted upon a pair of sprocket wheels 39 and 40 which are journaled upon the bar 29 at opposite ends of the latter, the upper stretch of the chain being secured by screws 4,! to .the left-hand stitcher slide 33 and its lower'stretch secured by screws 42 to the right-handstitcher slide 33. The inner sprocket wheel 40 is coaxially connected with a shaft 43 projecting forwardly and upwardly to a position within convenient reach of the operator and there provided with a handwheel 44, for which might be substituted any other suitable means for turning the shaft. The shaft 43 in this case is in two splined, telescopic sections 45 and 46., of which the lower or rear section 45 is carried by the sprocket wheel 40 and moves with the cross-feed slide 16., and the upper or front section 46 is mounted to turn in a fixed bearing 48 on the end wall of the casing l3 andprovided with suitable shoulders tohold it against axial movement'in said bearmg.

In the operation of this apparatus, the stitcher wheels being together at the middle line of the drum at the begirming of the rolling operation, the cross-feed slide 16 is moved forward by means of the treadle lever 2| to bring said stitchers against the tire material on the drum. While the radial pressure is maintained and the drum [0 is in rotation, the hand-wheel 44 is operated to move the. stitcher wheels apart toward the drum shoulders, and when they have completed their stroke, rolling down the the material for the full width thereof, the foot pressure is relieved, the slide 16 and parts carried thereby are moved downwardly and rearwardly by gravity to retract the stitchers radially from the drum, and the hand-wheel 44 is then turned in the reverse direction to move the stitchers toward each other to their initial positions.

The described mode of mounting the stitchers and their operating mechanism upon a crossfeed slide having a rectilinear movement in an inclined path avoids the necessity of providing an outward support for the bar 29 or a base mounting under the drum, dispenses with individual cross-feed mountings for the respective stitchers and. allows the operating shaft for imparting the longitudinal stitcher-feeding movement to be mounted directly in line with the feed devices carried by said slide and bar without the interposition of gearing or a universal joint. The resulting simplicity increases the efficiency of operation and reduces the cost of manufacture andmaintenancei The particular anti-friction bearing described for the cross-feed slide provides the necessary rigidity for sustaining the radial pressure of the stitchers against the drum without cramping the movements of said slide.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 4, a onepiece hand-wheel shaft 43 without a sliding joint is attached to the sprocket wheel 40 for operating the longitudinal feed, and its outer portion moves axially through the fixed bearing 48, so that the hand-wheel M participates in the movements of the cross-feed slide 16.

Various other modifications of embodiment might be made within the scope of my invention as defined in the claims.

I claim: Y

1. Tire-building apparatus comprising a rotary tire-building form, a stitching roller mounted rearwardly and below the axis of rotation of said form, a longitudinal stitcher guide parallel with said axis, a cross-feed slide carrying said guide and mounted for upward, forward movement in an inclined path to bring the stitching roller into operative relation with the form, means carried by said stitcher guide for imparting longitudinal feed movement to the stitching roller, and a forwardly and upwardly extending operating member for thelatter means.

2. Tire-building apparatus comprising a machine casing, a rotary tire-building form mounted on a shaft extending horizontally from said casing, an inclined guide on said casing, a crossfeecl slide mounted on said guide, a guide bar carried by said slide and. extending horizontally parallel with the form shaft, below and rearwardly of the latter, a stitcher slidable on said guide bar, and. operator-controlled devices for actuating said slide and said stitcher.

3. Tire-building apparatus comprising a tirebuilding form rotatable on a horizontal axis, a

stitcher movable radially into operative relation with said form, a slide carrying said stitcher and movable in an inclined, rectilinear path, crosswise of said axis, from a rearward position below the axis, for so moving the stitcher, means carried by said slide for imparting feed movement to the stitcher longitudinally of said axis, and a lever for actuating said slide, having a forwardly-extending pedal arm.

4. Tire-building apparatus comprising a rotary tire-building form, a stitcher mounted for rectilinear movements radially and longitudinally of the axis of rotation of said form, the stitch-- er mounting including a cross-feed slide, and a pedal lever for actuating said slide, having a mechanical connection with the latter adjustable to accommodate forms of different diameters.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 in which the connection between the lever and the slide is a link pivoted to the two and having a longitudinal series of holes for one of the pivots to vary the effective length of the link.

6. Tire-building apparatus comprising a rotary tirebuilding form, a stitcher mounted for movements radially and longitudinally of the axis of rotation of said form, the mounting including a cross-feed slide, a rectilinear guide therefor, an endless series of traveling anti-friction rollers interposed between said slide and guide, and a longitudinal guide bar carried at one end by said slide and slidably supporting said stitcher.

'7. Apparatus according to claim 6 in which the cross-feed guide is positioned at an inclined angle, rearwardly and below the form axis, and

the anti-friction means consists of two endless series of balls respectively at the upper and lower edges of the slide.

8. Tire-building apparatus comprising a rotary tire-building form, a guide bar located rearwardly and below the axis of rotation of said form and mounted for rectilinear cross-feed movement in an inclined path, a stitcher coacting with the form and mounted for rectilinear longitudinal sliding-feed movement along said bar, a wheel carried by the bar for imparting said longitudinal movement, and a forwardly and upwardly-projecting manual-feed shaft coaxially connected with said wheel.

9. Tire-building apparatus comprising a machine casing, a rotary tire-building form thereon, a stitcher mounted for rectilinear cross-feed movement in an inclined path radially of the axis of rotation of said form and also mounted for sliding-feed movement longitudinally of said axis, a control-shaft bearing on said casing, and a control shaft mounted to turn in said bearing on a fixed axis parallel with the cross-feed. movement of the stitcher.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 in which the control shaft is in two telescopic, splined sections, the lower one of which partakes of the cross-feed movement of the stitcher and the upper one of which is held against axial movement in said bearing.

11. Apparatus according to claim 9 in which the control shaft is axially slidable through as well as rotatable in said bearing and partakes as a whole of the cross-feed movement of the stitcher.

HENRY C. BOSTWICK. 

